Day 32: What's that doing there?

I'm afraid our children have got a rough break in the gene department, not only have we conspired to produce diminutive offspring, but allergic ones as well. As a result of this, we have been cautious about the introduction of some foodstuffs and in particular peanuts. The current NHS advice in the UK (for such high risk children) is to avoid peanuts while pregnant and breastfeeding and until the child is three years old. However, such advice seems to change at least annually. We had realised that it might be time to allow them into the diet of the young Exiles, but the time has never just seemed right.

Here, however, peanuts are not considered an allergen or a even a mere foodstuff, they are everywhere, and in children's food particularly - and nobody is worrying about it (or if they are they are being kept quiet by the powerful peanut lobby). They even crop up in allergen-aware food such as some dairy-free ice-cream we bought, no mention of peanuts until half way down the ingredients there is lurking peanut oil. So, what are we to do? Allow our high-risk children (both current and future) to be exposed to this evil substance or stand firm? And what about the other ingredients in food here: brown rice syrup solids, potato sugar and of course high-fructose corn syrup? What's a foreigner supposed to make of all that? And then there are the things that are dangerous here that were safe in the UK, drinking a little alcohol and/or taking the odd paracetamol whilst pregnant, driving at 70 mph, crossing the road...

I wonder what would happen if all the advisory bodies in the world got together and made a list of things that they all agree are safe - then we could finally relax and stop worrying.

For now, I am getting to eat all the peanut-based cookies (from the neighbours) and peanut-oil tainted ice-cream. What's that? One of those advisory bodies has added obesity to the things we should be avoiding? They've got to be kidding.